The spot later transitions into praise of Christie, touting his four balanced budgets and education funding.

Christie’s first spot was overwhelmingly positive, with the minute-long ad touting the state’s job growth during his tenure and his efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

In the latest NBC News/Marist poll of the race, Christie had a more than two-to-one lead over Buono, 60% to 28% and soaring approval ratings. Fifty-seven percent of voters said they hadn’t even heard of Buono.

Christie cited One New Jersey, an outside group running ads opposing him, as one reason he’s hitting Buono so early.

“I would have run a purely positive campaign,” Christie told reporters on Monday, according to PolitickerNJ. “Special interest groups are attacking my record…I’m not going to be a heavy bag.”